


13. Bullied

by love_write_edit_sleep



Series: Child's Play (DBH 31 Fic Challenge) [13]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Big family outing, Bullying, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Injury, Kid!RK900, M/M, this ones kinda cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 21:45:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15737931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/love_write_edit_sleep/pseuds/love_write_edit_sleep
Summary: Gavin, Matthew and Jerry take Richard to the beach on Gavin’s day off. This turns out to be a mistake.





	13. Bullied

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I wanted to give Ralph a go because I love the way he speaks, but I don’t know how ‘in character’ he is.
> 
> ALSO DAVID ATRAKCHI (AP700 ACTOR) LIKED MY 2 EDITS OF HIM, COMMENTED ON ONE, AND SAID MATTHEW WAS A GOOD NAME FOR HIM! I’M SCREAMING!  
> WHAT DID I DO TO BE BLESSED?!

****“Why did you tell Con-Con?!” Richard cried, clutching Kadie as Gavin struggled to reach said android on the phone. Gavin sighed, knowing he really should have thought things through the night before before telling Connor.

It wasn’t like he blamed the android. He was just doing what he thought was right. If Richard had another break down about it, at least he and Connor knew what to do. He hadn’t meant to make Connor feel bad.

“Because I thought it was better for him to know in case you had another breakdown.” Gavin sighed.

“I can handle it mysewlf.”

“You shouldn’t fucking have to, Richard!” Gavin cried, gripping his hair in frustration. “Remember the first time I had an episode in front of you? You told Hank and Connor!” Gavin stopped when he saw Richards red LED. “Fuck… Just… I’m sorry, okay? I know I fucked up, I was trying to do the right thi- Hey, hey, Connor? Hey, yeah, I just wanted to say sorry about last night.”

Richard’s attention was torn from Gavin with a knock at the door. Richard stood to get it.

“Hey, I got it.” Gavin assured him, leaving the room.

Moments later, Matthew entered the room.

“Hello, Richard!”

“Maffew!” Richard beamed and ran over to Matthew, who knelt down and pulled the child into a safe embrace.

“Connor told what happened last night, are you alright…?”

“I’m okay.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yeah.” Richard pulled away and beamed.

“Did Gavin tell you the plan?”

“What plan?”

“Well…” Matthew looked around before leaning down with a smirk. “It is warmer than usual today… I heard that we might be going to the beach.”

“The beach?!” Richard gasped.

“Shh! It is meant to be a surprise!” Matthew giggled. Richard lowered his voice.

“Are you coming with us?”

“Yes, and so is Jerry and his boyfriend.”

“Jewwy has a boyfwiend?”

“He does, yes. He is very nervous around new people though, so we must be gentle with him.”

“Are they here? Can we go say hi?”

“Of course, they are in the living room.” Matthew smiled, taking Richard’s hand. Richard, after grabbing Kadie, eagerly led him through to the living room, beaming when he saw Jerry stroking Felicia.

“Jewwy!”

“Hi, Richard!” Jerry laughed as the boy plummeted into him, hugging him tight. “Hey, I have someone for you to meet.” Jerry smiled, pulling away and looking up at his boyfriend, who was sitting on the couch nervously.

“Hi, I’m Wichard.” Richard held his hand out.

“Ralph…” Ralph whispered, hesitantly taking Richard’s hand and shaking it.

“And this is Kadie.”

“Hi, Kadie.” Ralph forced a smile at the plush cat.

“You got a scar, like Maffew.” Richard suddenly blurted. “Does it hurt?”

“Richard-” Matthew stepped forward.

“It’s alright.” Ralph whispered. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. Humans hurt Ralph, they gave him the scar.”

“Humans hurt Maffew too.” Richard explained. “But my human won’t hurt you. Gabin says Jewwy is family, so you’re family too.”

“Ralph is family?” He whispered.

“Jesus Christ, here we go again.” Gavin laughed as he entered the room. “You’re all family, okay?”

“Jerry, Ralph is part of a family!” Ralph cackled excitedly. Jerry pressed a kiss to his forehead in response, earning a giggle.

“I may have let slip our surprise to Richard.” Matthew blushed, looking down. Gavin rolled his eyes.

“You’re worse than Connor. Alright then, Richard, get changed, then we’ll get going.”

* * *

“Gabin, look at the sand!” Richard squealed, running ahead onto the sand. “It’s all squishy!”

“Careful, you’ll sink in it.” Gavin laughed. Matthew elbowed him gently.

“Do not tell him things like that…”

“Oh, no, relax, it’s a joke. I say it every time we visit the beach because, you know, he’s heavy, or he is as an RK900 model.” Gavin smiled. “It’s okay, he knows what I mean.”

“Oh, okay.” Matthew seemed satisfied with the answer.

“Walph, do you wanna build a sandcastle?” Richard asked, shoving Kadie into Gavin’s hand. Ralph clapped his hands excitedly and giggled.

“Ralph wants to build sandcastles. Jerry, can Ralph go and build sandcastles?”

“Of course you can, sweetheart…” Jerry smiled. Ralph giggled and hugged Jerry tight before running ahead with Richard, taking the boy’s hand in his. Jerry’s expression fell.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Gavin asked, nudging Jerry softly.

“Nothing.” Jerry forced a smile.

“Hey, no, don’t hide it.”

“Just… He’s suffered so much pain…” Jerry whispered. “He’s scared… of me, of humans… They tortured him for no reason at all other than for their own amusement… He’s much like a child: dependent, curious, innocent… vulnerable and taken advantage of… Perhaps that’s why I love him so much… I just want to take his pain away…”

“You are good to him…” Matthew whispered, placing a hand on Jerry’s shoulder. “Look how happy he is.” They all looked over to where Richard was teaching Ralph how to pat a bucket to make a perfect sandcastle.

“Math’s right, you can’t take his pain away, but you can make him happy.” Gavin smiled. Jerry nodded.

“Hey, is that…? Is that Robo-Jesus?” Gavin asked, watching two men talking to each-other as they passed Richard and Ralph. Richard perked up.

“Karkus!”

“Oh, my god…” Gavin broke into a run towards where Richard and Markus were now staring at each other. “Markus!”

“Gavin.” Markus smiled. “Is this android yours?”

“It’s Richard.” Gavin explained, stopping in front of him and pulling Richard into his arms. “You know, Connor’s brother?”

“But… why is he a child?”

“He’s so cute!” Simon gasped. “Can I hold him?”

Before Gavin could answer, Richard leaned over, making grabby hands at Simon. Gavin handed him over, rolling his eyes.

“He’s super cuddly as a kid.”

“I died twying to stop Hank fwom being killed by a bomb. He’s in a coma now.”

“Oh, no…” Simon whispered. “I-I’m so sorry…”

“Connor didn’t tell me this.” Markus looked up at Gavin with a glare that made Gavin feel like he was blaming _him_.

“He doesn’t want to worry anyone, he’s dumb.”

“I will contact him later…” Markus muttered, making a mental reminder.

“Do you guys wanna join us?” Gavin asked, indicating to where Matthew, Jerry and Ralph were setting up towels a few meters away. “We’re just chilling today.”

“That sounds nice.” Simon smiled. Markus gave in.

“Thank you, Gavin.”

“Awesome.”

* * *

“Gabin, can I go look for fishies in the wockpools? Pwease?” Richard asked, clutching Kadie to his chest.

“Sure, but stay where I can see you, yeah? If anything happens, scream.”

“Okay.” Richard giggled. “Walph, do you wanna look?”

“Jerry, can Ralph go and look for the fish?” Ralph asked. Jerry nodded.

“Of course.”

“Yay! Thank you!” Ralph beamed, hugging Jerry tight before following Richard again. Gavin frowned.

“Does he ask permission for everything?”

“His previous owners were not kind to him… Before the torture.” Jerry sighed. “He’s scared of being hurt if he does anything out of place.”

“So… basically anything deviant?”

“Yes…”

“Poor Ralph…” Matthew whispered. “I cannot imagine being so scared all the time… Afraid to be hurt by the ones you love because of past experiences… Who could be so cruel…?”

Gavin didn’t speak.

* * *

“Walph, look, a crab!” Richard beamed, pointing to a crab in the water. Ralph giggled.

“Crab looks tasty.”

“No, we can’t eat him, silly!” Richard laughed. “He’s got a family to feed!”

“They could eat him.”

“No!” Richard laughed harder. “You’re funny.”

“Ralph likes to make children laugh. Laughing is a kind sound. A happy sound. Ralph likes happy sounds…”

“What other happy sounds do you like?”

“Ralph likes grasshopper sounds, and Jerry’s voice. Jerry’s voice is safe.”

“I like Gabin’s voice. Even when he swears.” Richard smiled. “He makes me feel safe too.”

“Ralph has never been safe before…” Ralph whispered.

“I’ll keep you safe!” Richard beamed. “And Gabin will, and Jewwy and Con-Con and Hank and Karkus and Simom and Kadie!”

“Family will keep Ralph safe.”

“Yup!” Richard smiled. “Hey, look! It’s a shell!”

“A shell?” Ralph asked, watching curiously as Richard reached in to pull it out. As he leant down, Kadie was snatched from his hand.

“Hey…” Richard whispered, looking up to face a very smug looking teenage boy. “Can I pwease habe that back?” Richard asked, holding his hand out. The boy shoved him back into Ralph, who caught him.

“Fake kids don’t get toys.”

“Give her back…” Ralph tried to act tough for Richard, but his voice came out as a whisper.

“Whatever, broken dad.”

“Don’t be mean to him!” Richard cried, but Ralph quickly turned and ran back to the group. “Give her back, she’s mine… Gabin got her for me, she’s not yours!” Richard made a grab for the toy, only for the boy to hold the toy up above his head. Richard made another grab for it, whimpering when he realised he wasn’t going to reach it.

“What you gonna do about it, Android?” The boy laughed. “You gonna go crying to ‘Gabin’?”

“He’s a powice officer, he’ll awwest you.”

“Kids can’t be arrested, dumbo.” The boy laughed. “Shall we see if kitty can swim?”

“No!” Richard grabbed at the boy, only to be shoved down onto the rocks. Richard winced at the pain that shot through his wrist. “No! Don’t!”

“Bye bye, Kitty.” The boy laughed as he moved to throw the plush into the ocean, only for the plush to be sharply snatched from his hand.

“I’ll take that.” The boy and Richard turning to face Markus, who looked down at them with a glare. “This isn’t yours. You are a 13 year old boy, you should know better than to steal from young children.”

“He’s not even a real kid, he’s just a toaster. You’re all toasters!”

“Richard, are you alright?” Simon gently helped the boy to his feet before taking his hands in his. Richard nodded, wiping his eyes as he sniffed.

“I’m okay… I-I want Kadie back…”

“She’s right here, safe and sound.” Markus smiled, handing the plush to Simon, who passed it to Richard. Richard held her close to his chest, burying himself in Simon’s jacket. Simon gasped.

“Marcus, he’s bleeding…”

“Take him to Gavin. I need to speak to this boy’s Mother.”

“You’re gonna tell my Mum?! What the hell? He’s just a robot!” The boy cried, but Richard wasn’t listening, burying his face in Kadie’s fur.

“Richard!” Ralph gasped as Simon returned to the group. “Ralph is sorry, he was scared, he found Markus instead, Ralph was bad…”

“You wewen’t bad, you’re good.” Richard whispered. “Gabin says it’s okay to ask for help when you think you can’t manage. That’s how you keep youwself safe.”

Gavin bit his lip with pride, and Jerry looked like he was going to cry as he cleaned the wound on Richards palm and wrist.

“Ralph was good?”

“Walph was good.” Richard smiled. "Hewe, I got you the shell." He added, holding the shell out for Ralph. Ralph took it, admiring it fondly.

"Ralph loves the shell... Thank you..." 

“There, all better.” Jerry whispered, sticking a plaster over the wound.

“Am I gonna have a scar like Walph and Maffew and Gabin?” Richard asked.

“Maybe.”

“Yay!”

* * *

The journey home was, in Gavin’s eyes, adorable.

Markus and Simon had gone home together, so Gavin offered to drop Ralph, Jerry and Matthew back home.

Matthew sat in the front seat, head against the window and struggling to stay awake as he fiddled with his sleeve in an attempt to keep himself awake. Ralph had fallen asleep between Jerry and Richard, his head resting on Jerry’s shoulder as he held Richard’s hand loosely, Richard’s other hand clinging to Kadie. Jerry was awake, tracing circles on the back of Ralph’s hand with a soft smile, Ralph clutching the shell Richard had given him.

As he pulled up outside Matthew, and Connor’s, apartment, he turned and took a quick photo of the androids on his phone.

Matthew blinked, realizing where they were.

“Oh, thank you, Gavin.” Matthew rubbed his eyes. “Connor shall be home soon. Thank you for today. It was enjoyable. I hope Richard is alright.”

“Thanks, Math. Night, buddy.”

“Goodnight, Gavin.”

* * *

After dropping Jerry and Ralph off, Gavin took Richard home, carrying him in.

“Gabin…?” Richard stirred.

“Hey, buddy, just carrying you to bed. You okay?”

“Wichard is okay.” Richard yawned. “Look, Gabin, Wichard is talking like Walph.”

“So you are, Kid.” Gavin chuckled, laying Richard down in bed. “Gavin is tired, are you tired?”

“Yeah, Wichard is tiwed.”

“Alright, you get some sleep then, okay?”

“Okay. Wichard loves Gabin…”

“Gabin loves Wichard too.” Gavin smiled, pressing a kiss atop Richard’s head. “Night.”

“Night…”

As Gavin closed the bedroom door, he smiled, recalling how Richard had comforted Ralph earlier.

_“Gabin says it’s okay to ask for help when you think you can’t manage. That’s how you keep youwself safe.”_

Maybe he wasn’t such an asshole of a parent as he thought.

* * *

_“Hank, Matthew has the most beautiful photos of Gavin and Richard at the beach today._

_Richard made friends with Ralph. Gavin said that Jerry said that Ralph had never attached himself to anyone so quickly. Our family is bigger now that we have Jerry and Ralph. You’ll love them._

_Hank… Dad… I don’t know how much longer I can do this… Please wake up…”_


End file.
